Child Protection Policy

Transcription

1 Child Protection Policy At Sunny Days we work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form. We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust practices in place to prevent the impairment of children s health and development. Safeguarding is a much wider subject than the elements covered within this single policy, therefore this document should be used in conjunction with the nursery s other policies and practices. Legal framework and definition of safeguarding Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2014 Working together to safeguard children, 2013 Childcare Act 2006 Children Act 2004 Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, in relation to this policy is defined as: Protecting children from maltreatment Preventing the impairment of children s health or development Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. (Definition taken from the HM Government document Working together to safeguard children 2015 ). Policy intention To safeguard children and promote their welfare we will: Create an environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image Provide positive role models Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development Provide a safe and secure environment for all children Always listen to children SDNChildProtection0815 1

2 Provide an environment where practitioners are confident to identify where children and families may need intervention and seek the help they need Share information with other agencies as appropriate. The nursery is aware that abuse does occur in our society and we are vigilant in identifying signs of abuse and reporting concerns. Our practitioners have a duty to protect and promote the welfare of children. Due to the many hours of care we are providing, staff may often be the first people to identify that there may be a problem. They may well be the first people in whom children confide information that may suggest abuse or to spot changes in a child s behaviour which may indicate abuse. Our prime responsibility is the welfare and well-being of each child in our care. As such we believe we have a duty to the children, parents and staff to act quickly and responsibly in any instance that may come to our attention. This includes sharing information with any relevant agencies such as local authority services for children s social care, health professionals or the police. All staff will work with other agencies including as part of a multi-agency team, where needed, in the best interests of the child. The nursery aims to: Keep the child at the centre of all we do Ensure staff are trained to understand the safeguarding policy and practices, are alert to identify possible signs of abuse, understand what is meant by child protection and are aware of the different ways in which children can be harmed, including by other children through bullying or discriminatory behaviour Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in the best interest of the child share information and seek the help that the child may need Ensure that all staff are familiar and updated regularly with child protection training and practices and kept informed of changes to local/national practices we use the acronyms PENS to help staff remember the different types of abuse, and TED to support good practices when dealing with a child s disclosure Make any referrals in a timely way, sharing relevant information as necessary in line with practices set out by the Dorset Local Safeguarding Children Board Ensure that information is shared only with those people who need to know in order to protect the child and act in their best interest Ensure that children are never placed at risk while in the charge of nursery staff Take any appropriate action relating to allegations of serious harm or abuse against any person working with children, or living or working on the nursery premises including reporting such allegations to Ofsted and other relevant authorities Ensure parents are fully aware of child protection policies and practices when they register with the nursery and are kept informed of all updates when they occur SDNChildProtection0815 2

3 Regularly review and update this policy with staff and parents where appropriate and make sure it complies with any legal requirements and any guidance or practices issued by the Dorset Local Safeguarding Children Board. We will support children by offering reassurance, comfort and sensitive interactions. We will devise activities according to individual circumstances to enable children to develop confidence and selfesteem within their peer group. Contact telephone numbers: Local authority children s social care team Bridport Dorchester Weymouth Local authority Designated Officer (LADO) Ofsted Telephone: Staffing and volunteering Our policy is to provide a secure and safe environment for all children. We only allow an adult who is employed by the nursery to care for children and who has an enhanced clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to be left alone with children. We do not allow volunteers to be alone with children or any other adult who may be present in the nursery regardless of whether or not they have a DBS clearance. All staff will attend child protection training and receive initial basic child protection training during their induction period. This will include the practices for spotting signs and behaviours of abuse and abusers/potential abusers, recording and reporting concerns and creating a safe and secure environment for the children in the nursery. During induction staff will be given contact details for the LADO (local authority designated officer), the local authority children s services team, the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) and Ofsted to enable them to report any safeguarding concerns, independently, if they feel it necessary to do so. We have a named person within the nursery who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding and coordinates child protection and welfare issues, known as the Child Protection Coordinator (CPC). The nursery CPC liaises with the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) and the local authority children s social care team, undertakes specific training, including a child protection training course, and receives regular updates to developments within this field. Informing parents Parents are normally the first point of contact. If a suspicion of abuse is recorded, parents are informed at the same time as the report is made, except where the guidance of the LSCB/ local authority children s social care team/police does not allow this. This will usually be the case where SDNChildProtection0815 3

4 the parent or family member is the likely abuser, or where a child may be endangered by this disclosure. In these cases the investigating officers will inform parents. Confidentiality All suspicions, enquiries and external investigations are kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know. Any information is shared in line with guidance from the LSCB. Support to families The nursery takes every step in its power to build up trusting and supportive relations among families, staff, students and volunteers within the nursery. The nursery continues to welcome the child and the family whilst enquiries are being made in relation to abuse in the home situation. Parents and families will be treated with respect in a nonjudgmental manner whilst any external investigations are carried out in the best interests of the child. Confidential records kept on a child are shared with the child's parents or those who have parental responsibility for the child, only if appropriate in line with guidance of the LSCB with the proviso that the care and safety of the child is paramount. We will do all in our power to support and work with the child's family. Employees, students or volunteers of the nursery or any other person living or working on the nursery premises If an allegation is made against a member of staff, student or volunteer or any other person who lives or works on the nursery premises regardless of whether the allegation relates to the nursery premises or elsewhere, the allegation will be reported to the Director. If this person is the subject of the allegation then this should be reported to the CPC instead. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), Ofsted and the LSCB will then be informed immediately in order for this to be investigated by the appropriate bodies promptly. Our nursery has a clear commitment to protecting children and promoting welfare. Should anyone believe that this policy is not being upheld, it is their duty to report the matter to the attention of the Directors at the earliest opportunity. SDNChildProtection0815 4

5 Intimate Care At Sunny Days we believe that all children need contact with familiar, consistent carers to ensure they can grow and develop socially and emotionally. At times children need to be cuddled, encouraged, held and offered physical reassurance. Intimate care routines are essential throughout the day to meet children s basic needs. This may include nappy changing, supporting children with toileting, changing clothes, and giving first aid treatment and specialist medical support, where required. In order to maintain the child s privacy, we will carry out the majority of these actions on a one-toone basis, wherever possible, by the child s key person with the exception of first aid treatment which must be carried out by a qualified first aider. We wish to ensure the safety and welfare of children during intimate care routines and safeguard them against any potential harm as well as ensuring the staff member involved is fully supported and able to perform their duties safely and confidently. If any parent or member of staff has concerns or questions about intimate care practices or individual routines, please see the manager at the earliest opportunity. Safe Care and Practice At Sunny Days we believe that all children need to feel safe, secure and happy. This involves nursery staff being responsive to children s needs, whilst maintaining professionalism. This includes giving children cuddles and changing children s nappies or clothes. If a parent or member of staff has concerns or questions about safe care and practice practices or behaviour they consider as inappropriate, including between staff members, they are urged to see the manager at the earliest opportunity. Management will challenge inappropriate behaviour in line with the supervision/ disciplinary or whistleblowing practices. If the concern relates to the manager and/or nursery owner then parents should contact Ofsted or the local authority children s social care team telephone numbers as listed before. Whistleblowing At Sunny Days we expect all our colleagues, both internal and external, to be professional at all times and hold the welfare and safety of every child as their paramount objective. We recognise that there may be occasions where this may not happen and we have in place practices for staff to disclose any information that suggests children s welfare and safety may be at risk. We expect all team members to talk through any concerns they may have with their line manager at the earliest opportunity to enable any problems to be resolved as soon as they arise. SDNChildProtection0815 5

6 Legal framework The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, commonly referred to as the Whistleblowing Act, amended the Employment Rights Act 1996 to provide protection for employees who raise legitimate concerns about specified matters. These are called qualifying disclosures. On 25 June 2013, there were some legal changes to what constitutes a qualifying disclosure. A qualifying disclosure is one made in the public interest by an employee who has a reasonable belief that: A criminal offence A miscarriage of justice An act creating risk to health and safety An act causing damage to the environment A breach of any other legal obligation or Concealment of any of the above Any other unethical conduct Is being, has been, or is likely to be, committed. Qualifying disclosures made before 25 June 2013 must have been made in good faith but when disclosed, did not necessarily have to have been made in the public interest. Disclosures made after 25 June 2013 do not have to be made in good faith ; however they must be made in the public interest. This is essential when assessing a disclosure made by an individual. The Public Interest Disclosure Act has the following rules for making a protected disclosure: You must believe it to be substantially true You must not act maliciously or make false allegations You must not seek any personal gain. It is not necessary for the employee to have proof that such an act is being, has been, or is likely to be, committed; a reasonable belief is sufficient. Disclosure of information If, in the course of your employment, you become aware of information which you reasonably believe indicates that a child is/may be or is likely to be in risk of danger and/or one or more of the following may be happening, you MUST use the nursery s disclosure practice set out below: That a criminal offence has been committed or is being committed or is likely to be committed SDNChildProtection0815 6

7 That a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which they are subject (e.g. EYFS) That a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur That the health or safety of any individual has been, is being, or is likely to be endangered That the environment, has been, is being, or is likely to be damaged That information tending to show any of the above, has been, is being, or is likely to be deliberately concealed. Camera, mobile phone and recording device use At Sunny Days we recognise that photographs and video recordings play a part in the life of the nursery. We ensure that any photographs or recordings (including CCTV) taken of children in our nursery are only done with prior written permission from each child s parent. We obtain this when each child is registered and we update it on a regular basis to ensure that this permission still stands. We ask for individual permissions for photographs and video recordings for a range of purposes including: use in the child s learning journey; for display purposes; for promotion materials including our nursery website, brochure and the local press; and for security in relation to CCTV. We ensure that parents understand that where their child is also on another child s photograph, but not as the primary person, that may be used in another child s learning journey. If a parent is not happy about one or more of these uses we will respect their wishes and find alternative ways of recording their child s play or learning. Staff are not permitted to take photographs or recordings of a child on their own cameras, mobiles or other devices and may only use those provided by the nursery. The nursery manager will monitor all photographs and recordings to ensure that the parent s wishes are met. Parents are not permitted to use any recording device or camera (including those on mobile phones) on the nursery premises without the prior consent of the manager. During special events, e.g. Christmas or leaving parties, staff may produce group photographs to distribute to parents on request. In this case we will gain individual permission for each child before the event. This will ensure all photographs taken are in line with parental choice. We ask that photos of events such as Christmas parties are not posted on any social media websites/areas without permission from parents of all the children included in the picture. Mobile Phone and Social Networking At Sunny Days we promote the safety and welfare of all children in our care. We believe our staff should be completely attentive during their hours of working to ensure all children in the nursery receive good quality care and education. To ensure the safety and well-being of children we do not allow staff to use personal mobile phones during working hours. We use mobile phones supplied by the nursery to provide a means of contact in certain circumstances, such as outings. SDNChildProtection0815 7

8 We require our staff to be responsible and professional in their use of social networking sites in relation to any connection to the nursery, nursery staff, parents or children. We ask parents and visitors to respect and adhere to our policy. Parents and visitors use of mobile phones and social networking Whilst we recognise that there may be emergency situations which necessitate the use of a mobile telephone, in order to ensure the safety and welfare of children in our care and share information about the child s day, parents and visitors are kindly asked to refrain from using their mobile telephones whilst in the nursery or when collecting or dropping off their children. We promote the safety and welfare of all staff and children and therefore ask parents and visitors not to post publically or privately information about any child on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We ask all parents and visitors to follow this policy to ensure that information about children, images and information do not fall into the wrong hands. Parents/visitors are invited to share any concerns regarding inappropriate use of social media through the official practices (please refer to the partnership with parents policy, complaints practices and grievance policy). Prevent Duty From 1st July 2015 all schools, registered early years childcare providers and registered later years childcare providers are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This duty is known as the Prevent duty. Here at Sunny Day Nurseries Limited we take Safeguarding very seriously, therefore to ensure that we adhere to and achieve the Prevent duty we will; Provide appropriate training for staff as soon as possible. Part of this training will enable staff to identify children who may be at risk of radicalisation. We will build the children s resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views through promotion of their personal, social and emotional development as well as their understanding of the world. We will assess the risk, by means of a formal risk assessment, of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology. We will ensure that our staff understand the risks so that they can respond in an appropriate and proportionate way. We will be aware of the online risk of radicalisation through the use of social media and the internet. As with managing other safeguarding risks, our staff will be alert to changes in children s behaviour which could indicate that they may be in need of help or protection (children at risk of radicalisation may display different signs or seek to hide their views). The Key Person SDNChildProtection0815 8

9 approach means we already know our key children well and so we will notice any changes in behaviour, demeanour or personality quickly. We will not carry out unnecessary intrusion into family life but we will take action when we observe behaviour of concern. The key person approach means that we already have a rapport with our families so we will notice any changes in behaviour, demeanour or personality quickly. We will work in partnership with our LSCB for guidance and support. We will build up an effective engagement with parents/carers and families. (This is important as they are in a key position to spot signs of radicalisation). We will assist and advise families who raise concerns with us. It is important to assist and advise families who raise concerns and be able to point them to the right support mechanisms. We will ensure that our CPC s will undertake Prevent awareness training (as a minimum) so that they can offer advice and support to other members of staff. We will ensure that any resources used in the nursery are age appropriate for the children in our care and that our staff have the knowledge and confidence to use the resources effectively. SDNChildProtection0815 9